Connor Jessup Came Out Because He Fell in Love With Miles Heizer

We all totally lost it over the adorable reveal that Connor Jessup and Miles Heizer are dating. And now, Jessup is speaking candidly about his decision to come out publicly as gay — something he says was inspired by his relationship with Heizer.

In a recent interview with Attitude, Jessup reiterates that he had been out in his private life for years. However, he admits that he not only avoided coming out publicly for a long time, but also somewhat avoided getting into a serious relationship because he knew something would have to change.

“The excuse was always that I was busy working and there was never the time to meet people,” he says of his relationship history. “That’s all true to an extent, but also I think I was afraid.”

Jessup, who is currently starring in Netflix’s Locke & Key, and Heizer, who has starred in the last three seasons of 13 Reasons Why, have been dating for 18 months, and their time together served as inspiration for Jessup to finally come out to the world last summer.

“It was something I’d been thinking about more and more, and the reasons that I wasn’t saying anything felt thinner to me every day,” he said. “The excuses that I’d been giving myself for years were dissolving, and I couldn’t think of any reason not to.”

“When you’re happy, you want to be happy publicly, and it made me think about the whole construction of my life in a way that I had been avoiding,” he elaborated.

So that’s it. Jessup’s core reason for coming out, “one of the sparks at the beginning of the fuse,” as he puts it, was a simple one:

“I fell in love.”